zosianicola's Diaryland Diary

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scuba widow with babies

These dogs are supposed to be so smart, but the housetraining isn't going so well. They have very few accidents but that's because I am always sending them outside. After they eat, or drink, or nap, or play, or if they get close to the back door, they go outside. Then the get a reward if the do their duty. Still we have one or two accidents indoors per day (never more than one per dog, that is). And I think they (Mydog, that is) have (has) only asked to go outside once. The accidents have all been urine on the tile floor so it's not a big deal but Izzy and Guido (the best little retriever in Texas) were housetrained in 2-3 days.

I hope the problem is one of these two things:
it's harder to train two than one, because they are always distracted by the sibling
it's easier to train them once they are going into their crates most of the day

because come Monday both of these two situations will change. Mydog and I will be in SA and I will be going to work, and Hisdog and P-dog will be here and P will be going to work.

last night they were so wild and uncontrollable, trying to chew on everything they could see (and their eyesight is SHARP, really good), and not taking any reprimands to heart. I didn't want to use the crates as punishment, so I just held Mydog in my arms until he calmed down (took about 10 minutes), then let them outside to empty themselves out, then put them in their crates early. It was 9:00, They usually go down about 11.

I paid for it in the night. I had to get up with them at 3. They let me sleep til 6:30.

Today we are trying the noise method of reprimand---I put 6 pennies in a can and rubber banded the can shut with plastic wrap. When Mydog starts to gnaw on anything he shouldn't, I shake the can and scare the little devil.

Any other advice welcome.

But you should see them run. They have such majestic lines, such a flowing effortless gait---like show dogs already.

P-dog is scuba diving off the coast, on a trip that entails a 100-mile boat ride and live-aboard weekend. I cannot do this sort of trip because I get seasick. The scopolamine patch keeps it under control for short boat rides but I can't take a chance on this one. He also took the camera so no pix, sorry

7:27 a.m. - 2006-08-05

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previous - next

a substitute activity - 2007-07-17
tired of this tedious waiting all the time - 2007-07-13
July 13 update - 2007-07-13
- - 2007-07-08
nooooooz - 2007-06-29